Ahmedabad: A Covid-19 positive man was found dead on a bus stand in a shocking and rather strange incident in Ahmedabad.
The man, 67- year old resident of Rohit Park Society at Dani Limda, and admitted in the Ahmedabad Civil hospital on May 10th and was tested to be covid-19 positive on May 13th. After the doctors said that he was asymptomatic, he, along with 5 other patients wanted to go home and stay in quarantine. He had filed a form for home isolation. They were discharged on May 14th and taken in a bus by the hospital to the bus stop where he was asked to get down and walk home.
The next day, when the security guard saw him lying on the bus stand, he tried to wake him up, assuming he was asleep. Realizing the situation, he immediately reported to his seniors through whom the body was taken away to the VS Hospital.
Dr MM Prabhakar, the officer on special duty at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, said “The patient had very mild symptoms and as per new protocols, he was asked to home quarantine. He was discharged on 14 May (a day before his body was found). When he was being discharged, he was adequately fit. The hospital’s transport system took him from the hospital but probably because the road was congested near his house, he was dropped at a neighbouring bus stand.” He added, “It is not immediately clear whether his family members were informed about his discharge.”
The son of the deceased said, “On 15 May, we received a call from the police saying my father’s body was found at the bus rapid transit system (BRTS) station near Danilimda Crossing in Ahmedabad,” in a conversation with The Quint.
Regarding the last rites of the man, his son said, “Despite my father being a COVID patient, the family members carried out the cremation procedure. We were just asked to wrap his body in plastic.”
After the incident surfaced, state Chief Minister Vijay Rupani ordered a probe into the matter. She has asked the ex-additional chief secretary of the health department, Rajiv Gupta to carry out an inquiry and submit a report within 24 hours. MLA Jignesh Mevani lashed out at the Rupani government, calling the incident ‘criminal’ as this isn’t the first time the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital came under the radar for ill-handling of the patients. Earlier, it had refused to allow 25 covid-19 patients to enter the hospital premises and this forced them to stay on the streets. The police took action after one of the patients took a video of the situation and posted it on social media which got viral in no time.
